FOOD: Solace finally opens in Encinitas

After months of delays and waiting, Solace & the Moonlight
Lounge quietly opened its doors for dinner last week, adding
another hot spot to the North County dining scene.

The sister restaurant to North Park's Urban Solace, a local
favorite, Solace sits on the north end of Pacific Station in
Encinitas, serving plenty of modern comfort food and seafood.

Chef/owner Matt Gordon said Solace has been busy since its
opening, with great feedback from diners in the opening nights.

"We plan on being here a long time, so a few months late is no
big deal," Gordon said.

While a handful of Urban Solace staples ---- such as the Warm
Cheddar & Chive Biscuits, Watermelon/Tomato/Cucumber Salad, BBQ
Glazed Duroc Pork Belly, and Grilled Four Cheese Sandwich With
Fresh Basil And Tomato And Creamy Tomato-Fennel Soup ---- have
migrated north, a few customer favorites remain on the North Park
menu only, including the Duckaroni and Pulled Chicken And
Buttermilk Dumplings.

But what Solace lacks in standbys, it more than makes up for in
seafood dishes, which Gordon said pays tribute to the new
location's proximity to the ocean.

"We want to have fun and do some new stuff," Gordon said. "It
(the menu) flows together."

The North Park restaurant's menu is also a reflection of its
location. Urban Solace took over a building that had a French
Quarter feel; Southern-style comfort food fit the mold. With
Solace, Gordon and his team were able to decide the design and feel
themselves.

The new Solace space has a downstairs dining room and an
upstairs lounge with a "raw bar" that serves oysters, steak tartare
and more. There are also cheese plates and salumi available
upstairs.

As far as the design, the downstairs dining area is split into
two areas, with stairs and a servers' station acting as the divider
in the middle. The north side offers more natural light with large
windows facing E Street, with benches lining the walls and wood
decorating much of the space.

The south side shares space with the kitchen, offering a
noisier, more bustling atmosphere. There's also a patio outside,
though Gordon sees that more as a lunch space.

Upstairs, plenty of bar-height tables take up the floor space
not occupied by the large wood-paneled bar. There's another outdoor
seating area upstairs, and Gordon said the whole place can seat up
to 190 guests. Upstairs patrons can order off the full menu as well
as from a bar and raw bar menu. Reservations can be made for the
downstairs area, while upstairs is open seating (but as witnessed
on a recent weeknight, it fills up fast).

The goal in both restaurants is not supposed to be about design,
Gordon said. "We want people to remember, first and foremost, who
they ate with, the company they had. Then, great service, and we
hope in all of that, the food filled the last little hole."

Drink-wise, Solace partnered with Blind Tiger Cocktail Co. to
create the cocktails for the new location. Gordon said his wife
concocted the drinks at Urban Solace, but found she didn't have
time to also take up the task at Solace, so she worked alongside
Blind Tiger to fine-tune the new creations.

Solace also offers several craft beers on tap, including Airdale
and Green Flash; it's also one of the first restaurants in the area
to offer draft wine.

The wines, mostly from Paso Robles and the northern California
wine country, come in casks that hold 25 bottles and are offered by
the glass.

Now that the doors have been open for dinner for almost two
weeks, Solace plans to begin offering lunch next week, with brunch
hopefully coming along in early September.

Gordon said he was already looking for a second location when
the developer for Pacific Station contacted him about the project a
few years ago. Gordon said he came up to check out the location and
felt in his gut that Encinitas was the right choice.

"When we opened Urban Solace, it was an old building, but you
could feel change in the air," he said. "That's exactly what I felt
standing in a dirt strip over there."

Gordon said Encinitas has become a downtown hub for North County
residents, with many restaurants filling by 6 p.m. And when he
started getting more diners from the area down at Urban Solace, he
knew there was a need for something similar up north.

"We want to be that restaurant ... that chef-driven restaurant,
on that corner," like other neighborhoods have, Gordon said.